Tottenham Hotspur midfielder James Maddison has now admitted he’d never even heard of one of the club’s summer signings before he joined.
It has been an impressive week for Tottenham who have got their top four charge back on track after their dismal defeat against Fulham.
Ange Postecoglou‘s side were able to take three points on Sunday against Nottingham Forest which made it two wins and a draw since the international break.
But Spurs won’t be walking out at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend as they travel up north to face Newcastle United.
The players will surely be going into the game at St. James’ Park full of confidence with some seriously impressive displays on show yesterday.
Micky van de Ven was just one of the players to shine in north London and he was heavily praised by Cristian Romero and Pedro Porro.
The latter of which, Porro, also got on the scoresheet with a sensational half volley beyond the Forest keeper to seal the points.
Postecoglou’s arrival has seen a number of new faces land at Hotspur Way in the last 12 months and the majority of them have proved to be good buys.
However, Maddison has admitted there is one who he had not even heard of before he joined Spurs.
James Maddison admits he’s been seriously impressed by ‘special’ player at Spurs
A number of players came out of the game on Sunday with credit to their name after showing up in the second half.
Spurs have made a bit of a habit in making a slow start to games and struggling to find the back of the net in the first half.
In their last two consecutive games, Timo Werner has provided a cross to give Spurs the lead only to see the opposition equalise before half time.
However, this time around, the German will have been relieved to see the two defenders hit the back of the net shortly after the break.
Van de Ven was one of the numerous players who were signed in the summer transfer window.
Maddison was another, along with the likes of Guglielmo Vicario and Brennan Johnson.
Spurs have taken onboard a new transfer recruitment policy which has been led by data and is proving to be a roaring success.
But Maddison has now admitted to the media he hadn’t even heard of Van de Ven before Spurs made the £43m signing of the Dutchman.
“Shooting is not his forte if you see him in training every day but we’ll take them ones that go flying into the top corner.
“He is a special player, he is top level and credit to the recruitment team because I had never heard of him before we signed him.
Postecoglou says he wants more players like Van de Ven
Naturally, a big deal is being made of whether Tottenham are going to finish in the top four and what that could mean for their summer plans.
However, Postecoglou has insisted that he doesn’t feel Champions League football will define what Spurs do this summer.
Speaking to the media last week, the 58-year-old used Van de Ven as an example of exactly what type of player he wants Tottenham to sign.
“Because they [some players] don’t want to come to Tottenham… they want to go to a Champions League club. I signed Micky van de Ven this year — he’s not a bad player is he? And we were in the Champions League? No.”
Receive a digest of our best Spurs content each week direct to your mailbox
